'Friendly at the Confines' taps into local Polish, Italian communities

22,181 fans showed up for the "Friendly at the Confines" between Italy's AS Roma and Poland's Zaglebie Lubin, the first soccer game at the stadium since the Chicago Sting last played there in 1984.

In an atmosphere that substituted droning vuvuzelas for organ music and hooligan chanting for seventh-inning-stretch singing, English speaking was sparse, with local Polish and Italian communities rallying for the rare event.

For their part, the Cubs worked to form a blueprint for promoting more such events, which help bring in extra cash during road trips and the off-season.

The team partnered with Evanston-based Integra Communications to reach out to the large Chicago Polish community to sell tickets, which ranged from $25 to $110.

They also sold tickets on commission at Polish and Italian restaurants and retail locations throughout the city and drummed up interest through ticket offers with local youth soccer leagues.

The crowd was only about half the size of the one that came out for the NHL Winter Classic in 2009, but growing soccer interest has shown in recent years at Soldier Field (which needs the extra events more).

In May, a match between the national teams from Mexico and Bosnia-Herzegovina drew more than 51,000 fans to a rainy game on the lakefront.

Photo

Michael Bradley, who spent his teenage

years in Chicago, had never been to

Wrigley Field before this weekend.

Sunday's game was especially notable, though, for AS Roma and U.S. national team midfielder Michael Bradley, who got his first-ever Wrigley Field experience this weekend despite having spent most of his teenage years in suburban Palatine while his dad (Bob) coached the Chicago Fire from 1998 to 2002.

"You see right away how much history is inside here," said Mr. Bradley, 24, who joined AS Roma only a week ago. "This is special for me."

One side note, albeit a more personal observation: While the Cubs tried to promote this through all sorts of media, both soccer clubs struggled to make this game particularly media-friendly.

Mr. Bradley, for example, who had one of the more compelling stories to tell in his return to Chicago, was largely kept under wraps by the team and its Boston-based marketing agency, RaptorAccelerator.

He was allowed to answer a total of three questions Saturday during the media availability before being cut off, and was not allowed to do interviews on the field after the game.

Access to other players was also very limited and overly controlled.

A little bizarre. I'm guessing these guys are expecting the TMZ reporters of the world to try to pull a fast one on them, but it sure doesn't help draw positive attention to the team (and the sport) in the U.S.